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Sports

Pittsburgh Pirates To Recognize USF Sarasota-Manatee's Crew Team

Sunday's ceremony, which will be part of the festivities for USF Sarasota-Manatee Day, could bolster the club-level team's recruiting efforts and visibility.

Just before the Pittsburgh Pirates conclude their 43rd consecutive Grapefruit League season in Bradenton, the area’s most established sports entity will recognize the efforts of those associated with the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s fledgling co-ed crew team.

The pregame ceremony is just part of the festivities for Sunday’s USF Sarasota-Manatee Day at The Pirates, which will coincide with Pittsburgh’s 1:05 p.m. season finale against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. It will be the first exposure to the spotlight for modest team founder/president and and 11 other student rowers ranging from ages 20-32 since the university announced the launch of its first club-level athletic team and the area’s first local collegiate crew team on Feb. 3.

Considering the amount of work that has went into establishing the team since the start of practices Feb. 13 at the Sarasota Crew’s Osprey-based facility, it may also be the first exposure to a spring training game this year despite the efforts of USF Sarasota-Manatee Assistant Director of Alumni and University Relations Jay Rile, the team adviser.

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“During spring break, I went down (to Osprey) to film 10 of them,” Riley said. “I told them, ‘Hey guys, I got four tickets to the Pirates right behind first base. Who wants to go?’ I didn’t get rid of one ticket. All I heard was, ‘I got to work. I have a test.’

“I was like, ‘Come on guys, it’s spring break.' "

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James, the son of a former University of Alabama-Huntsville rower, first visualized the idea of the university starting a club-level rowing program last summer after reading about the at Nathan Benderson Park. He saw the team as an extension of Bulls country and a focal point of one of USF’s four campuses in four counties.

With his rowing experience being limited to a brief stint with a club-level crew while attending USF’s Tampa campus, James approached USF Sarasota-Manatee Regional Chancellor Dr. Arthur Guilford with the idea. According to James, Guilford’s immediate support has turned to visions of the school competing on the open water.

James’ effort to get USF Sarasota-Manatee’s crew team to this point has included examining the prices of boats, finding a coach — Sarasota Crew men’s varsity team coach Liza Dickson — and recruiting. Although the team filled with neophyte rowers is a member of U.S. Rowing, it still has to prove to Dickson that it is capable of competing in a regatta.

“(Dickson) is a great coach who knows that we are taking the baby steps,” James said. “We’re doing as much as we can and getting as many people as we can to practices.”

The time commitment required to compete in a sport such as rowing and USF Sarasota-Manatee’s significant population of non-traditional students have hindered the crew team’s recruiting effort. However, the dedication displayed by the current group of student rowers and the support received from the area’s expanding rowing community gives James and Riley hope.

“It’s an unbelievable commitment,” Riley said. “These (rowers) are very, very driven. The majority of them are already successful in what they’re doing. Some of them actually have career jobs and school. Now, they’re taking on this commitment.”

Riley expects participation in crew to grow once USF Sarasota-Manatee becomes reaccredited as a four-year university. He believes the crew team will play an integral role in recruiting and the school’s branding.

“As far as raising awareness, it’s a whole different market,” Riley said.

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